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John Williams (guitarist)
| birth_place = Melbourne, Australia | alias = | genre = Classical music, progressive rock | occupation = Guitarist, arranger and composer | years_active = 1958 – present | associated_acts = Sky | label = Columbia Records | website = johnwilliamsguitarnotes.com }} John Christopher Williams, OBE (born 24 April 1941) is an Australian virtuosic classical guitarist renowned for his ensemble playing as well as his interpretation and promotion of the modern classical guitar repertoire. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award in the Best Chamber Music Performance category with fellow guitarist Julian Bream for Julian and John (Works by Lawes, Carulli, Albéniz, Granados). Guitar historian Graham Wade has said: "John is perhaps the most technically accomplished guitarist the world has seen."Dalya Alberge, "John Williams says guitar maestro Andrés Segovia bullied students and stifled their creativity", The Observer, 14 October 2012. Early life John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in Melbourne, Australia, to an English father, Len Williams, who later founded the London Guitar School, and Malaan (née Ah Ket), a daughter of Melbourne barrister William Ah Ket. In 1952, the family moved to England where he attended Friern Barnet Grammar School, London.The International Who's Who: 1984/85, 2004. Williams was initially taught guitar by his father, who was an accomplished guitarist.Paul Vernon Chester, Manouche Maestro: "Leonard Williams Guitarist – Journalist – Zoo Keeper and father of John Williams" . Retrieved 1 November 2013. From the age of 11, Williams attended summer courses with Andrés Segovia at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Later, he attended the Royal College of Music in London, from 1956 to 1959, studying piano because the college did not have a guitar department at the time. Upon graduation, he was invited to create such a department. He took the opportunity and ran the department for its first two years. Williams has maintained links with the college (and with the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester) ever since. Classical guitarist Williams' first professional performance was at the Wigmore Hall in London on 6 November 1958. Since then, he has been performing throughout the world and has made regular appearances on radio and TV. He has extended the repertoire by commissioning guitar concertos from composers such as Stephen Dodgson, André Previn, Patrick Gowers, Richard Harvey and Steve Gray. Williams has recorded albums of duets with fellow guitarists Julian Bream and Paco Peña. Williams is a visiting professor and honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. Williams mostly uses Greg Smallman guitars, after using Spanish Fleta during the 1970s.Joel McIver, "Classical Mover", [http://www.acousticmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=48 Acoustic magazine.] Thoughts on guitar education and teaching Williams has expressed his frustration and concern with guitar education and teaching, if it is too one-sided, e.g. focusing only on solo playing, instead of giving guitar students a better education including ensemble playing, sight-reading and a focus on phrasing and tone production and variation. Williams notes that "students are preoccupied with fingerings and not notes, much less sounds"; some are able "to play ... difficult solo works from memory", but "have a very poor sense of ensemble playing or timing". He notes that students play works from the solo repertoire that are often too difficult, so that the teachers often put more "emphasis ... on getting through the notes rather than playing the real substance of each note". To encourage phrasing, tone production and all-around musicianship, Williams arranges for students to play together in ensembles, choosing works from the existing classical music repertoire, such as the "easier Haydn String Quartets". Other musical genres Although Williams is best known as a classical guitarist, he has explored many different musical genres. Between 1978 and 1984 he was a member of the fusion group Sky. He is also a composer and arranger. At the invitation of producer Martin Lewis he created a highly acclaimed classical-rock fusion duet with rock guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who on Townshend's anthemic "Won't Get Fooled Again" for the 1979 Amnesty International benefit show The Secret Policeman's Ball. The duet featured on the resulting album and the film version of the show – bringing Williams to the broader attention of the rock audience. Williams recorded "Cavatina" by Stanley Myers. The piece originally included only the first few measures but, at Williams' request, it was rewritten for guitar and expanded by Myers. After this transformation it was used for a film, The Walking Stick (1970). In 1973, Cleo Laine wrote lyrics and recorded it as the song "He Was Beautiful" accompanied by Williams. The guitar version became a worldwide hit single when it was used as the theme tune to the Oscar-winning film The Deer Hunter (1978). Personal life Williams and his third wife, Kathy, reside in London and Cornwall. He has a daughter Kate, now an established jazz pianist. He also has a son, Charlie, by his second wife, the presenter Sue Cook. Discography Awards and recognitions Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance *Julian Bream & John Christopher Williams for Julian and John (Works by Lawes, Carulli, Albéniz, Granados) (1973) 'BRIT Award for Best Classical Recording *John Williams for ''Portrait of John Williams (1983) *Edison Award lifetime achievement award ' (2007) 'British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors''' * BASCA Gold Badge Award (2012) He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1980. See also * Sky (band) Articles * Interview (1983), by Paul Magnussen References Category:Australian classical guitarists Category:Male guitarists Category:Musicians from London Category:Musicians from Melbourne Category:Australian emigrants to England Category:Australian expatriates in England Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music Category:Academics of the Royal College of Music Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:People educated at Friern Barnet Grammar School Category:Fly Records artists Category:Sony Classical Records artists Category:Australian people of English descent Category:Australian people of Chinese descent Category:Sky (band) members